Review: Collide-a-Ball (3DS eShop)

Review: Collide-a-Ball (3DS eShop)

This review was written by PN contributor, Kirac.

If you’re looking for a simple pick-up-and-play game, this may be the one for you.

Collide-a-Ball is a straightforward, fun little puzzle game, featuring three modes of play, along with some very catchy music. The gameplay is simple; you use the stylus to drag and drop various blocks and squares, and you can also use the buttons to move the camera around if you choose to do so. Once you complete a level you get a ranking on how fast/how many tries it took you to complete it.

The first mode is Free Play, and in it you must design a track that will allow the red ball and the blue ball to arrive at the finish square at the same time. For designing the track, you move square blocks, ramps, speed squares and turn squares. But since the levels keep giving you more blocks and squares as you progress through the thirty stages, you will find that you don’t really need to use all of them to complete the level. But whether or not this bothers you depends on if you like the freedom to complete the level in your own creative way. I personally found the extra blocks to be a burden that got in the way while I tried to set up the track. I wound up stacking them and shoving them into the corner of the board.

The next mode is Wait & Go. Once you start this mode, it will show you the blue and red ball rolling for the goal along a track, but not colliding at the finish square because the timing is off, and it’s up to you to make the timing right. By tapping the start button on the screen you launch one ball, than once you tap it again you launch the other ball. I found the twenty stages easy to breeze through, since you get three tries to nail the timing and all you have to do is tap one button on the screen. I found this one enjoyable and it was probably my favorite of the three modes.

The final mode is Single Ball. In this mode you must set up the track using the blocks and squares provided, and you only have to worry about stopping the red ball on the finish square. This is extremely challenging because you have to slow the ball down just enough for it to stop on the finish square. There are only ten stages in this mode and thankfully you get five tries to complete each stage. I found this mode to be very hard and quickly lost interest in it. If you are up for a challenge this is the right mode for you.

Collide-a-Ball doesn’t have much to it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its charm. For $1.99, its worth a look. At its core, this game is simply fun and I would recommend it to both puzzle lovers and gamers who want an enjoyable pick-up-and-play game.

Review: Collide-a-Ball (3DS eShop)

6.5

Fair

Collide-a-Ball doesn’t have much to it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its charm. For $1.99, its worth a look.

Even though I was first introduced to video games with the Atari 2600 (I feel old) it was Nintendo that turned me into a lifelong fan. From the magical NES era when Nintendo was the face of gaming, through today with the 3DS, Wii U (and everything in between) Nintendo’s always entertained me with their innovative, and just plain fun games! Writing for Pure Nintendo has allowed me to combine a fondness for journalism with my love of gaming. I’ve especially enjoyed building working relationships with smaller and independent developers and studios.